Joe Goldberg isn’t your average hopeless romantic. He’s charming, articulate, and outwardly harmless—but beneath the surface lies a predator with a penchant for manipulation, murder, and terrifying logic. Netflix’s You follows Joe’s descent into obsession, rationalizing his crimes as acts of love and justice. The scariest part? Sometimes, he almost convinces us. Across multiple seasons and identities, Joe’s actions leave viewers gasping in horror—and looking over their shoulders. These are the 10 most chilling Joe Goldberg moments that prove love in Joe’s world comes at a deadly price.
#10: Locking Benji in the Glass Cage – “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
Joe’s darkness begins subtly in the pilot episode. At first, he seems like a charming bookstore manager with a literary soul. But when he lures Beck’s boyfriend, Benji, into the bookstore’s basement vault and locks him inside the soundproof cage, the tone shifts.
Joe’s justifications—Benji is a bad person, Beck deserves better—are what make this moment so chilling. He doesn’t see himself as a kidnapper or potential killer. He sees himself as a romantic hero cleaning up Beck’s life. Watching Joe interact with Benji, offering him food and even asking about his allergies, adds an extra layer of creepiness. He’s polite. Calm. Almost friendly. But it’s a cage. And Joe built it with intent.
This moment is terrifying because it lays the foundation of Joe’s mindset. In his eyes, removing obstacles to love—no matter how violently—is noble. We’re not even halfway through episode one, and we’re already in a locked room with a sociopath who smiles while planning your death.
#9: The Peach Salinger Murder – “Amour Fou” (Season 1, Episode 9)
Peach is one of Joe’s most intelligent and suspicious adversaries. She sees through his charm and recognizes his dangerous obsession with Beck. When Peach lures Beck to her family’s estate to “protect” her, Joe sees it as a threat—and responds the only way he knows how.
Joe stalks Peach to the house and ultimately shoots her during a tense confrontation. He tries to make it look like a suicide, typing out a fake note on her laptop and arranging the scene. What makes this moment chilling isn’t just the murder—it’s the cold, calculated way Joe goes about staging it.
Even more disturbing is how Joe later comforts Beck in her grief, pretending to be the supportive boyfriend while hiding the truth that he pulled the trigger. His ability to smile and soothe while covering up a killing show how deep his deception runs. It’s a moment that reveals not only Joe’s capacity for violence but also his talent for emotional manipulation.
#8: Killing Love Quinn – “What Is Love?” (Season 3, Episode 10)
Season 3 ends with one of the most disturbing turns in Joe’s story: the murder of his wife, Love Quinn. Love has her own dark side—just as dangerous and impulsive as Joe. But when she attempts to kill him after discovering his latest obsession, Joe turns the tables with poison and a knife.
What makes this scene, so bone-chilling is the domestic intimacy of it all. They’re in the kitchen. Their baby is asleep nearby. Joe talks her through her dying moments like it’s a break-up. His calm, clinical tone while watching the life leave Love’s eyes is horrifying.
He even fakes his own death, cuts off two of his own toes to sell the illusion, and burns down the house with her inside—all while narrating the entire plan like it’s the next chapter in a love story gone wrong. Joe’s twisted sense of heroism peaks here: in his mind, he is the victim, and removing Love is his only path to redemption. It’s the stuff of nightmares—made worse by how rational he makes it all sound.
#7: Bashing Rob and Taking Baby Henry – “What Is Love?” (Season 3, Episode 10)
After killing Love, Joe doesn’t hesitate to take one more devastating step—giving up his infant son. But not before a moment of shocking violence. When Rob, the man caring for Henry, tries to intervene, Joe bashes him with a glass bottle.
It’s sudden. Brutal. And all the more terrifying because it’s so casual. Joe apologizes as he does it, muttering that it’s necessary. He doesn’t relish the violence—but he has no problem doing it.
Then comes the real heartbreaker: Joe leaves Henry behind, believing his son will be safer without him. But that’s the problem—Joe decides what’s best for everyone. In doing so, he robs Henry of his parents and resets the cycle of abandonment and control. It’s a moment that blends horror and tragedy, reminding us that even when Joe does something “selfless,” he does it with blood on his hands.
#6: Beck’s Discovery and Death – “Bluebeard’s Castle” (Season 1, Episode 10)
The climax of Season 1 is one of the show’s most gut-wrenching episodes. After slowly piecing together the truth, Beck discovers the hidden room in the bookstore basement. She finds Joe’s shrine of mementos—stolen items, a phone, even teeth—proving he’s not just obsessive, but a killer.
Her horror is visceral, and for a moment, she almost escapes. But Joe is always one step ahead. He traps her, pleads with her to understand, and when she refuses, he kills her. The moment is haunting, not just because of the violence, but because of Joe’s remorse. He doesn’t enjoy killing her. He loved her.
But in Joe’s world, love isn’t a sanctuary—it’s a cage. And Beck’s refusal to accept him seals her fate. The tragedy of it all—the build-up, the betrayal, the final breaths—makes this one of the most chilling moments of the series. It’s the first time Joe’s fantasy of love fully collapses, and the result is fatal.
#5: Holding Delilah Hostage – “Fear and Loathing in Beverly Hills” (Season 2, Episode 9)
Delilah is one of the most likable and self-aware characters in Season 2. So, when she discovers Joe’s cage—and finds herself locked inside—it’s a devastating turn. Joe promises he won’t hurt her and that he’ll release her soon. But as we all know, promises from Joe don’t mean safety.
The horror here lies in the waiting. Delilah has time to process her fate, time to scream and hope, time to wonder if she’ll live. Joe keeps visiting, rationalizing everything, even as her fear escalates.
What’s worse? Joe doesn’t even remember if he killed her. That detail alone adds a new level of terror to his character—he’s so numb to violence that it becomes a blur. Delilah’s death is later revealed to be Love’s doing, but the way Joe casually drifts through the aftermath is what makes it so chilling. His conscience is a shifting fog, and once again, a woman dies while he walks away.
#4: Breaking into Natalie’s House – “So I Married an Axe Murderer” (Season 3, Episode 2)
Joe’s stalking escalates in Season 3 when he becomes obsessed with Natalie, the neighbor. He doesn’t just fantasize about her—he breaks into her house. He snoops through her drawers, opens her laptop, sniffs her clothes, and leaves no trace.
It’s textbook Joe. The voyeurism. The entitlement. The way he talks to himself as if he’s the victim of some unavoidable attraction. He sees it as romantic curiosity—but it’s deeply invasive and predatory.
What’s most terrifying is how normal he makes it look. He’s not frenzied or frantic—he’s calm, composed, focused. This isn’t a crime of passion. It’s a ritual. And Natalie, completely unaware, becomes the latest target of Joe’s twisted idealism.
This moment proves that even when Joe tries to “change,” he can’t resist the pull of control. Obsession is his default setting—and no locked door can keep him out.
#3: Killing Guinevere Beck’s Therapist – (Season 1, Implied)
Though never explicitly confirmed, it’s heavily implied that Joe murders Beck’s therapist, Dr. Nicky, or at least frames him so thoroughly that his life is destroyed. After Beck’s death, Joe writes a fake manuscript from her point of view, implicating Dr. Nicky as her killer.
The manipulation is next level. Joe doesn’t just kill Beck—he rewrites her story. And he does it so convincingly that the world believes the wrong man is guilty.
What’s horrifying isn’t just the injustice—it’s the ease with which Joe twists narratives. He understands how people think, how stories work, and how to use truth as a weapon. It’s gaslighting on a grand scale, and Dr. Nicky becomes the scapegoat for Joe’s crimes.
This moment shows Joe’s most terrifying power: he controls the ending.
#2: The Paris Epilogue – “What Is Love?” (Season 3, Episode 10)
After all the carnage in Madre Linda, Joe fakes his death, assumes a new identity, and resurfaces in Paris. The moment is short, but bone-chilling. He’s walking through the city with calm confidence, already scanning for his next obsession.
His inner monologue makes it clear: he’s not done. He’s not sorry. And he’s already imagining his next “love story.” It’s a horrifying realization that no matter how many times Joe resets, the danger remains.
The chilling part is the quiet. The calm. Joe doesn’t need a bloody scene to terrify us—just a slight smile and a promise that the cycle will continue.
#1: Killing Marienne’s Ex and Stalking Her Daughter – “Did You Know?” (Season 4, Episode 7)
Season 4 takes a darker, more psychological turn as Joe becomes the hunted—but in this episode, we’re reminded of just how far he’ll go. After falling for Marienne, Joe kills her abusive ex and later stalks her daughter, Juliette, as a way to “protect” their bond.
The danger here is insidious. Joe believes he’s doing good. He’s talking to himself again, constructing a narrative in which violence is redemption. Seeing him interact with Juliette—kind, warm, almost paternal—is deeply unnerving when you know what he’s capable of.
This moment encapsulates everything terrifying about Joe. His delusions. His charisma. His ability to make even the most horrific acts feel like favors. It’s no longer about passion or jealousy—it’s about ownership. And that, more than anything, makes Joe Goldberg the most chilling kind of monster.
Joe Goldberg is the romantic lead turned nightmare fuel. He doesn’t wear a mask or wield a chainsaw—he kills with charm, words, and warped reasoning. These moments reveal just how dangerous someone can be when they believe every sin is justified by love. What makes Joe chilling isn’t just what he does—it’s how calmly he does it. And how close he always seems to convince you that he’s right.
